Why Notre Dame football will suffer greatly if they join a conference

Jack Swarbrick, Athletic Director at Notre Dame is making noises about joining a conference.

Don't do it Jack.

“I believe we’re at a point right now where the changes could be relatively small or they could be seismic,” he said. “The landscape could look completely different. What I have to do along with Father Jenkins is try and figure out where those pieces are falling and how the landscape is changing.”

He is talking about the possible imminent expansion in the Big Ten and Pacific Ten conferences and the battle for TV rights.

The obvious one for Notre Dame to join is the Big East but that would profoundly affect their schedule.

Notre Dame football would never be the same again with far less choice on who the Fighting Irish would face

Notre Dame’s football program is also the only one to have its own television contract, with NBC. The channel is not going to renew if its Rutgers USF and Connecticut as the top games.

“We start that process with a clear preference,” Swarbrick told The New York Times . “You each could invent a scenario that would force our hand. It’s not hard to do. We just have to pay attention and stay on top of the game and talk to people. That’s what I’m spending 50 percent of my time doing right now. I’m talking to people who you’re writing about and trying to make sure I understand what they’re thinking and what’s going on.”

Swarbrick said the change could be profound

“I think seismic is a possibility,” he said. “I don’t know where the spectrum falls out. You have such an interesting media environment here. It’s having such an impact on people. You have two conferences who have separated themselves economically. And you have all the other conferences lined up in successive years for broadcast negotiations. That’s a tough situation for everyone in that position. The bar has been set so high, and the media market is so tepid, that it creates tension.”

He added: “I’ve been in and around this business for 29 years now. This is as unstable as I’ve seen it.”

Jack, you will make it lot more so for ND if you end the Fighting Irish independence.